Glock 19.5 - Parts, Tools, Reference Materials, Skills

[MaterialWeakness]

So while there's a lot of great information in the search function, I haven't seen anything that addresses all of this directly so I thought I should ask. I am ignorant and I need help lol.

After much consideration, I have committed to the 5th generation Glock 19 as my "platform" (for lack of a better word) for my self-protection needs and I want to work at becoming self-sufficient at it, since this is what I'm committing to. Also it will just make it easier to accumulate magazines and other accessories.

I am not a gunsmith. About the height of my mechanical ability is self-assembly of AR-15s. Well, and one time I managed to make a Century Arms GP-WASR10 into a firearm. I'm kind of proud of that.

Of course that's part of why I went with the Glock, it seems to be the best possible platform for a non-expert to learn from a mechanical perspective.

My goal is to obtain the spare parts, reference materials, tools and skills necessary to keep a Gen 5 Glock 19 running, not indefinitely, but so long that the barrel needs replacing before I run out of replacement bits. This is not going to happen over night, rather this is something I intend to work on as I can for many months/years.

I was hoping to just go order a slide kit and a lower kit, I see them for sale for gen 3 and 4 guns, and I did find a slide kit for the gen 5 at Big Tex Outdoors, but there's no single retailer that will just sell you a complete set like they do with the older gens. That's frustrating.

I understand that the gen 1 and 2 guns are too old to expect to find support for (which is also frustrating, I have a gen 2 Glock 19 I wish I could also source parts for, I figure I will try to just buy a used gun for parts some day), but you'd expect the gen 5 to be ubiquitous. It does look like the parts are out there, they're just scattered among multiple retailers.

I have jumped the gun (ha, terrible pun) a little bit by getting a hold of several lower parts a la cart, for instance I have a trigger pin but need to get the others.

I understand that springs and other parts will wear and break much sooner, for example it's my understanding a spare locking block is probably not needed for instance, but my thinking is get 1 of everything, then get 1 more of the most high priority parts, then get enough springs for a service life of say 50,000 rounds fired (which wouldn't even wear out the barrel).

Of course not being a gunsmith I need help understanding which parts are the most critical.

I also understand you can break a Glock down with a ball point pen, but eventually I'd like to be able to do everything easily, such as sight removal/replacement.

I'm trying very had to find some kind of (ideally illustrated) book or manual showing a step by step full breakdown that would contain the technical information necessary to maintain and repair the pistol. I would think a company like Glock would publish armorer's manuals for its products, and it looks like either they do or a third party does for the third gen models, but I can't find anything like that for the fifth gen. There's some promising looking third party books out there but it's all for fourth gen guns or third, very frustrating.

I do have that really cool benchmat with the very useful exploded diagram, and that does help a lot, but I want something I could use if the power/internet was out for a week due to a natural disaster and my freaking gun broke on day 2.

I'm also trying to find out what commonalities there are between the 19, the 26, 17 and 34 as far as parts go. Ideally I'd like a breakout like "This pin on the model 19 will also work for a 26 but not a 17, and this spring will work in the 17, 19 and 26, but the extractor will only work for the 19" kind of thing, like in a chart or table. It would be really cool if I could just build up a core of parts and tools and be able to go between the different models.

Finally, I have debated whether it might be worthwhile to get a P80 kit and just follow the instructions and build it out. I understand it will not be the same as my gen 5 gun, but that seems like it could be a solid way to learn how the pistol goes together and the tools I'd need to do that would probably be some of the same ones I'd need to really maintain/repair handguns in general. I mean I learned the most about how the AR15 works by actually putting one together. Plus, hey, another gun.

 

[4V50 Gary]

Cerakote does not have "ceramic" as part of its intended ingredients. Rather, it's a byproduct from the ceramic stones used to mix the paint ingredients with.

I like Gunkote myself. Less tempermental and you can do it yourself. Spray 'n bake. Do it yourself.

 

[Scorch]

Material Weakness- your gen 2 Glock is still supported with sights, parts. Shop at the Glock Store or Brownells or Midway for parts. A Glock is a very simple mechanism, about 27 parts total depending on the generation. Lots of videos on YouTube to tell you how to do it. Once you've taken it apart a few times you'll realize just how basic the gun is. You do need a few special tools, but most of it can be done with the Glock admirers tool (a straight push punch).

 

[dyl]

Material Weakness - The Gen 5 glock isn't very different from Gen 4. So it would in fact be beneficial to learn about Gen 4 or 3. There haven't been radical changes to the number of parts, just the shape of some parts have been tweaked. Like slide serrations, polygonal rifling changed to traditional groove and lands,Finger cut outs, finger grooves, etc. Recoil springs have been of different widths and design but their basic installation and function are the same. The latest generation doesn't really change the disassembly / assembly / manual of arms of the gun. So watch videos, read up on Gen 4 if there isn't enough good content on Gen 5.

When stocking up on parts, of course try to find Gen 5 parts unless you're pretty sure some are cross compatible. For drifting rear sights, I started with a roll of duct tape on its side as my bench and any hard non marring object like a cut chopstick and a small hammer. Eventually you'll end up with a bench vice and brass punches, or a sight drifting tool which you may not even need unless you don't trust yourself when drifting tritium sights. But if the sights have been filed to fit, and you tap on the right part of the sights, probably not going to crush a tritium vial.

Beras4deblife89 - that's not an easy screen name to type. Your slide is Gen 3, I'd google Polymer 80 lowers in Robbin Egg Blue, Compact V1 frame if your slide is for a G19, or Full size V2 frame if yours is a Glock 17 slide. Polymer 80 sells the kits for frames that are not difficult to do if you are decent with a cordless drill. Or they have already completed frames which would be handled like firearms that require an FFL transfer.

 

[dyl]

material weakness - if money is no object, AGI gunsmith videos are good quality, I'd look at buying the Glock Armorer's video. Their armorer courses always mention nice tidbits and have cutaway models to see the design. I don't know if they have updated to include Gen5 but like I said, Gen 5 isn't a really radical re-engineering.